


Belly Of The Beast

by Forthediehards



Series: Attack On Titan AU [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions
Genre: Angst, Attack on Titan AU, Gore, Gross body descriptions, Hugh and Nate go through literal hell, Hugh/Nate, If you're familiar with Attack on Titan tho you know it's pretty brutal stuff, Just pokemon characters in an AOT setting, M/M, Nate/Hugh - Freeform, Slight Cannibalism, There are no AOT characters in this, Trigger Warnings all over this tbh, Violence, greyskyshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 14:04:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8146858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forthediehards/pseuds/Forthediehards
Summary: [Attack On Titan/Pokemon Crossover AU] Hugh and Nate are put on backup duty for the day, having earned themselves a break after enduring the brutality of the last mission. The boys learn just how quickly even a back-up position can turn into a complete nightmare.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is part of my Attack on Titan/Pokemon Crossover! I know the idea is a little wild, but hopefully you'll give this a shot either way! I hope you enjoy :D

It had always been known that eerie silence in the midst of chaos was a bad omen. With half a dozen titans stomping around outside the forest, and three times the amount of scouts out there to slay them, Hugh thought the noise would be loud and explosive.

From within the darkness of the forest, however, everything remained completely still. Not a single leaf on any tree dared to flutter, nor any animal skitter across spindly limbs to break the unsettling calm. While Hugh wished to appreciate the few moments of peace he had been granted, he knew all too well than to let himself get comfortable.

At his side, Nate was quietly fidgeting with his shoe laces for what seemed like the umteenth time in the past five minutes. Hugh was trained well enough to identify anxiety when it was present, but having known Nate for more than six years also clued him into the boy’s current mental state even without the heightened senses.

“You must stay calm,” Hugh offered softly, turning to cup Nate’s cheeks in his hands and force the younger boy to meet his gaze. “We’re safe here for now. Don’t run your energy down by worrying.”

Nate seemed to ponder this for a moment, eyes twitching back and forth as he leaned instinctively into Hugh’s warm touch. It was barely a moment later that his trademark smile was back, and Hugh found it odd just how violently his stomach flopped when it came to Nate.

“Heh, you’re right. I should be thankful that we’re on backup today, after what happened last week.”

Hugh swallowed thickly at the mention of last week’s tragedy. As much as he had tried to block the horror out of his head, to forget the sticky warmth of the blood and innards that coated his body - Brendan’s blood and innards, at that - he just couldn’t seem to shake it.

Brendan had been a peppy young comrade, and in a sickening sense, Hugh would have compared him to Nate. Brave-hearted but foolhardy, young but highly skilled, and one whose innocence remained amidst the horror of their everyday life. He was a true treasure, a light that shone not quite as brightly as Nate - now snuffed out from his violent departure of their world. Hugh had so happened to be present at the time of the tragedy, close enough to bathe in the kid’s internal organs as he was viciously ripped apart, and close enough to hear the heart-wrenching scream of anguish from Brendan’s partner Wally.

Hugh had vomited at least twice out in the field, and four more times that following night. No matter how hard he scrubbed his skin, he could still see the copper color of blood beneath his fingernails serving as a harsh reminder of why they did what they did.

The majority of them fought for the freedom of humanity, and while that also weighed heavily on Hugh’s priorities, he fought mostly for Nate and Nate alone. Because Nate held whatever was left of Hugh’s humanity in his tiny little hands and deep in the sinews of his golden heart.

“I wish you wouldn’t bring that up.” Hugh said in a huff, working quickly to dismiss the thoughts from his brain. Every time he replayed the scene in his head, he saw the pure terror in Brendan’s eyes and immediately thought of Nate. If Hugh ever lost him…. “At least not while we’re outside the walls.”

“Sorry,” Nate shot back immediately, reaching up to scratch behind his neck in a sheepish manner. “I’m just nervous. I say stupid things when I’m nervous.”

Hugh couldn’t help but smile at Nate’s confession, using his thumbs to gently caress the soft skin beneath his partner’s eyes. Nate hummed quietly beneath his breath, and nuzzled greedily into the touch.

“You are incredible.” Hugh countered, letting one hand fall limp from Nate’s cheek to instead grasp at a thin wrist, and he pressed his thumb deep into the vein that throbbed in rhythm with Nate’s life. “However dunderheaded you may be.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that so you could berate me, too.” Nate chuckled, and when the smile spread upwards to reach his eyes, Hugh lost his breath for approximately six seconds. “Uh oh, you’re giving me that look. Earth to Hugh!”

Hugh broke free from his temporary trance, his cheeks flushing a bright pink for having been caught, once again, staring at Nate. It was a common enough occurrence that Nate liked to make jokes about it now, but if Hugh looked hard enough, he could easily spy a blush on his cheeks as well.

“Hey, stop distracting me. Don’t you know we’ve got a job to do?” Hugh winked at Nate and removed his other hand from his cheek as he turned to face the endless abyss of dark trees ahead of them. Nate chuckled and gave Hugh’s shoulder a little shove, before taking a step forward to stand at his side as well.

“Man, it’s so quiet out there. You think everyone’s doing alright? I mean, it’s kinda nice to be back here for a day, but I can’t help feeling like I’d be more useful fighting with them.” Nate spoke after a few moments, and it caused the grip Hugh held on his wrist to grow a little stronger.

“Quiet is a good thing, Nate. It means we’re–” Hugh froze mid sentence when his ears picked up on a low, grumbling sound from off in the distance. He could hear Nate swallow harshly beside him, as well as feel the younger boy’s pulse flutter and adopt a much quicker rhythm against his thumb.

“Hugh, what-?”

“Shhh.”

The grumble became louder and louder, until it finally the noise was one they both could identify. Footsteps. Giant, titan footsteps.

Hugh swallowed harshly, immediately moving to stand in front of Nate on instinct. His stomach churned violently as his eyes darted about, looking to see where the titan was coming from. However, with the forest as dark as it was, and with how slowly the titans moved, it was difficult if not impossible to pinpoint a location just yet.

Nate’s breathing was loud in Hugh’s ear, sounding harsh and unsteady in contrast to his own which he had since learned to control in tense situations. “Nate,” he whispered faintly, giving the boy’s wrist a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay.”

“Right.” Nate replied quickly, slipping his wrist from between Hugh’s fingers so that he could get a grip on his weapons. Hugh followed suit, also readying himself for the titan that was likely to emerge at any second now.

The footsteps sounded as though they were right on top of them, when suddenly they came to a halt. Hugh raised an eyebrow, very slowly scanning the area to look for even the faintest hint of movement. Again, not a single leaf fluttered out of place - it was calm, uncomfortable stillness.

That was, of course, until he heard Nate gasp.

“Shh! You have to be q-”

What Hugh saw when he turned around made the blood run cold in his veins. His brain immediately fired a response to his muscles, urging him to react to the titan that was staring directly at them from behind. However, by the time he managed to respond to the signals, a large hand had come forward and reached out for Nate.

Hugh’s adrenaline kicked in full force, heart bursting in his chest as he jumped off the branch and activated the 3D maneuvering gear. He managed to grapple onto a higher branch, swinging himself expertly behind the titan and using both blades to carve out a huge triangle-shaped chunk in the back of it’s neck.

The titan bellowed, it’s scream echoing through the forest as the body fell forward towards the branch that Nate was still occupying. What was he doing? Why hadn’t he gotten out of there yet?

“Nate! Look out!” Hugh called to him, barely catching the younger man’s attention in time for him to sidestep the titan’s massive head as it crashed into the limp branch. However, as he ran forward with his fingers ghosting across the ejector for his grappling hooks, the dead weight of the titan’s hand hit him full force across the front and sent him flying backwards into a pit of complete darkness with no more than quiet whimper.

“Nate!”

In any other situation, Hugh would have let the advice of his Squad Leader stop him from pursuing Nate’s safety so he could keep control of the situation for his fellow Scouts. It was the logical thing to do, as well as the right thing. The needs of many outweighed the needs of the few, right?

But when it came to Nate, Hugh was prepared to break any law and commit the most heinous of acts to ensure the boy still had a heartbeat at the end of the day. Love was a completely illogical thing, in almost every situation.

And that’s why, without a moment of hesitation, he used the CO2 thrusters and propelled himself forward into the overwhelming darkness to save Nate’s life.

“Nate? Can you hear me?” He asked softly, just barely above a hiss as to not attract any more titans to their exact location. He knew more were on their way anyway, and likely soon in lieu of the titan’s cry for help moments before it’s death, but if he could just find Nate and get them to higher ground quick enough, they had a chance of escaping this situation with their lives.

“Nate? Come on, I need you to say something.”

Hugh’s heart pounded a violent rhythm against his ribs, and he was fighting back an incredible rage that boiled in the pit of his stomach. The longer he was greeted with silence, the angrier he grew at himself and at the titans. He parted his lips to call out for Nate a third time, when he heard a low, pained groan come from somewhere on his left. Snapping his head, he immediately lowered himself to the ground and ran off in that direction.

“I’m coming! Just hang on, okay? Make another noise or something!”

Hugh strained his ears to listen for a sign of life from Nate as he frantically searched the surrounding area for his body. In response to his request, he heard instead the sound of multiple footsteps thundering haphazardly in their direction. “Shit.”

“H-Hugh! There’s more!” Nate cried out, once again grabbing Hugh’s attention and sending him off in a different direction towards the sound of his voice. “It’s okay. I can fight.”

“Like hell you can!” Hugh shot back, pushing himself to run faster so he could get to Nate before the boy did something stupid. “Let me get you to higher ground and then I’ll take care of them.”

“Too late.”

The sound of grappling hooks bursting free from the 3DM gear made Hugh’s stomach fall to his feet. He barely saw a flash of movement ahead of him, and just like that… Nate was gone once more.

“God damn it, Nate!”

Hugh had no choice but to thrust himself upwards as well, using the aid of the 3DM gear to scale one of the giant trees in front of him. Even in midair, he could feel the thunderous vibrations of the titans’ footsteps reverberating in his chest and it made him sick to think that Nate was injured and still determined to fight these monsters unassisted. When they made it back to base later, he was going to give Nate a very stern talking t-

Hugh’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as his feet touched down upon a branch he had assumed to be safe, and he was met with the hungry gaze of a smiling titan. He jumped up and narrowly missed being snatched out of the air, grappling behind the beast and slaying it with the same triangle-shaped gash he had on the first one.

A sudden flash of movement to his right caught his attention, and he readied his blades again in case another titan had managed to sneak up on him. However, he saw the tail end of Nate’s cape flutter off into the distance as the boy propelled himself behind an unsuspecting titan and gave it a harsh dual-slash to the back of it’s neck. It fell down like a tree, rigid and straight and didn’t make a single sound until it’s body hit the ground.

The relief that spread through Hugh’s chest was comparable to the feeling of being wrapped tightly in Nate’s arms at the end of a long day and for just a moment, he allowed himself to relax. He let his heart slow down as the adrenaline filtered out of his blood, and breathing came easier now that his chest wasn’t so harshly clenched in fear.

“You scared the shit out of me, Nate. Don’t you ever, and I mean it, do that again.”

Nate had the gall to laugh, and Hugh took note of the way he grabbed at his chest in discomfort. Without examining him it was obvious to tell that he’d either fractured or broken his ribs in that scuffle and still managed to get back up on his feet to kill a titan. Absolutely unbelievable.

“Maybe you shouldn’t underestimate me then, huh?” Nate shot back playfully, stuffing his blades back into their holsters with a slight wince. “I told you I could do it.”

“It’s not that I underestimate you, it’s that I worry about you. You’re a complete idiot, taking on a titan like that with broken ribs.”

Nate rolled his eyes, though that silly grin never left his lips which meant he was clearly amused and thankfully not annoyed. Sliding his own blades back into place, Hugh took his eyes off of Nate for approximately four seconds. He looked up when he was finished, getting ready to grapple over to the same branch that Nate was perched on, and what he saw made his heart freeze solid in the center of his chest. His reaction time was far worse than it had been earlier since he had allowed his body to relax so prematurely, but when he was finally able to find his voice he let out a gut-wrenching scream and held his arm out desperately towards his partner as if it would have some sort of magical effect.

“Nate!”

A third, hidden titan had come out of the darkness, and with a quick motion had extended its arm forward towards Nate. Clearly startled by Hugh’s scream, Nate jumped and turned on his heel just in time to see large fingers enclose around him. He let out a scream of his own, one that Hugh was certain would haunt him for the rest of his short life, as his body was hoisted up into the air and the titan tilted its head back.

“Hugh! Help me!”

In his panic, Hugh found himself completely immobile. While his heart fluttered away in his chest, no other part of his body seemed to be able to move. All he could do was watch in cold horror as the titan’s mouth opened, and a split second later, Nate was dropped onto a slimy pink tongue and disappeared behind two rows of large teeth.

Within seconds, all of that crippling fear turned into pure, unfiltered rage. Hugh suddenly regained control of his body and immediately shot himself out towards the titan without a second to spare. Tears clouded his vision as he soared through the air, grabbing hold of his blades as he approached the monster’s neck.

“Don’t you swallow! Don’t you dare fucking swallow!” He roared, catching the beast’s attention. The titan swatted up at Hugh, reaching and grasping for him only to miss narrowly every single time. Hugh would have played games with the titan, he would have gouged out it’s eyes and sliced it’s body to pieces even knowing that it would heal itself and regenerate - but he didn’t have time now. He had to kill this thing before it swallowed Nate, which meant it was going to have to unfortunately die a very quick death.

Hugh swerved to miss it’s hand once more, before cutting a sharp left and swinging himself directly behind the titan. Blades at the ready, he sliced into the back of it’s neck with a loud, pained scream and watched as the light drained from the creature’s eyes. It wobbled on its feet for a moment, fighting back with it’s last few seconds of life. Just as it seemed the titan reached it’s end, it looked directly at Hugh with a surprisingly conscious and knowing smile, and it swallowed. Thickly.

“Nate! Nate no!”

Hugh’s heart seized up in his chest and for just a moment, he couldn’t get his lungs to work. Hot tears built up in his eyes, betraying the collected rage that bubbled in the deep cavity of his chest. He let out a scream so vicious that it felt as though his throat had split itself in two and he shot himself down to where the titan now lay deceased.

“Nate!” He rasped, using his blades to cut viciously through thick skin. With every ounce of his being, he hoped he could get to Nate fast enough, before all the steam from the titan’s natural regeneration boiled him to death.

If he wasn’t dead already…

“Nate! Nate please! Fuck.” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he continued to hack his way through pounds of flesh, ignoring the blood and intestinal matter that splattered across his body as he did so. The smell of the titan’s innards was enough to make him want to vomit, but he held surprisingly strong as he continued his search in desperation. “I’m coming Nate! Please…please say something…”

The only sound he was able to hear was his own heart thumping madly in his chest. The rhythm was so fast and so vicious that coupled with the stench, it was making him physically sick. Trembling hands continued their search, however, digging through slippery intestines until they had finally found a way up into the stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Hugh held it in his lungs as he dove forward into the stomach without much of a second thought. The first thing he felt was the intense heat of the steam which made his skin sweat on contact. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the stomach acid licked at his arms and legs and sent searing shockwaves of pain signals to his brain. Thankfully his adrenaline was high enough to temporarily block out the majority of the pain, but even if it hadn’t, he still would have pushed through just to get to Nate.

His hands searched about through a deep pool of acid, grasping at anything that felt solid inside of the waste. After only a few moments, his fingers finally brushed against another hand and he yanked the body up quickly to check and see if it was Nate.

To both his relief and his dismay, it absolutely was.

Hugh hugged Nate’s small body against his own, viciously tearing his way out of the titan’s stomach until they were free. The coolness of the air was a relief both against his skin and in his lungs as he gently dragged Nate out of the oven-like stomach and set him down against solid ground.

“Nate!” He gasped, choking back his gag reflex as the stench of rotten innards registered in his brain. “Baby, please look at me.”

Nate was unresponsive to the pleas, which only made the level of desperation inside of Hugh rise to extremes. He let out a painful sob as he all but threw himself down against Nate, pressing his ear against the boy’s sternum to listen for any sounds of life.

For a terrifying moment it was silent. The waves of nausea were becoming too overwhelming to ignore and Hugh’s hands trembled in sick anticipation. There was no way Nate was dead…he couldn’t be dead. Hugh could not physically allow for such a bright light to leave this world.

“Nate…”

And that was when he heard it. Just as he was about to lift his head from his partner’s chest and start CPR, his ear tuned in to the sound of a beating heart. Hugh gasped, unable to contain his emotions while he continued to listen to Nate’s heart as it beat a steady pace within his ribs. There was a soft, almost inaudible whooshing sound below the deep thumping which indicated that the boy was also breathing on his own.

He was…he was alive!

Hugh paid no mind to the tears that spilled down his cheeks as he gently cradled Nate in his arms and held the younger boy to his chest. His own body was beginning to feel the effects of the stomach acid that lingered on his skin, but all he could do was sit there and cry over Nate’s unconscious form.

At that moment, the sound of a flare popping in midair ripped Hugh away from his thoughts and startled him back into reality. When he saw the smoke begin to billow across the tops of the trees, an indicator that the mission was over and all scouts were to come back to the Wall, he let out a weak laugh of relief and stood on shaky feet to report back to his Squad.

“It’ll be alright now. It’s okay.” He whispered into Nate’s dampened hair. “You’re safe. Everything is going to be okay.”

He repeated the mantra in his own head until he made it out of the forest and handed Nate over to the medics who would hopefully save his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, there will be a part 2! That is...if it's wanted! Thank you for reading all the way through to the end and I sincerely hope you enjoyed!


End file.
